Steve Van Andel, Chairman & Doug DeVos, President, Amway Corp.

Alticor Inc., the parent company of global direct-selling giant Amway, set a record with more than $10.9 billion in sales last year, the company’s sixth consecutive year of sales growth and its second in a row in which U.S. sales increased.

“We tend to be optimists. The economy is going through some tough times, but we really have a lot of faith in it. For us, it’s not only the people here in the States, but it’s the entrepreneurs around the globe. We tend to be optimistic in them and what they do and how well they do. We think that makes a huge difference in the future and in the future of our business. Our business looks good, but we think the economy, on a global basis, has a lot of optimism to it. I think there’s potential everywhere.” — Steve Van Andel

“We remain hopeful. We’re optimistic people. The economy is important. In our business, we’ve been able to be successful in good times and tough times. We tend to challenge ourselves to be sure that we’re providing the best product at the best value for the customer, that we’re providing our best value for our customers. (We) stay optimistic about the marketplace and our ability to compete in the marketplace.” — Doug DeVos